The REALIST project addresses the urgent climate risks that are intensifying in the Adriatic Sea basin. The coasts of Italy and Croatia are increasingly vulnerable to sea-level rise, severe marine storms and coastal erosion, which pose a serious threat to communities and ecosystems. Tackling these shared challenges requires integrated and harmonised cross-border strategies that go beyond individual local actions.
The overall objective of the project is to strengthen climate resilience through a comprehensive approach that enables tailored policy-making and facilitates the development of new local climate change adaptation plans. REALIST aims to assess and consolidate the available resources for risk management and prevention, laying the foundations for shared governance and long-term cooperation, including through the establishment of the Adriatic Sea Climate Observatory, a permanent structure designed to promote coordinated risk management and ensure the continuity of adaptation policies beyond the project’s duration.
To translate these objectives into concrete actions, REALIST implements 20 local pilot initiatives organised into five thematic areas. These include the harmonisation of early warning systems (EWS), integrated with generative artificial intelligence to improve decision-making, the testing of nature-based solutions for coastal protection, and capacity-building for first responders.
GOALS AND EXPECTED RESULTS
The project aims to achieve the following results:
- establish a comprehensive overview of the current state of early warning systems and climate adaptation strategies, identifying gaps, harmonisation needs and opportunities for standardisation
- analyse transferable knowledge and good practices, both within and beyond the programme area, to promote innovation and strengthen climate adaptation and resilience strategies throughout the Adriatic region
- develop pilot initiatives in different contexts to ensure thorough testing and a high degree of adaptability
- establish a stable framework for trans-Adriatic cooperation through a permanent Observatory, supporting long-term governance, policy development and capacity-building in the territories involved.
CIMA Research Foundation’s contribution
CIMA Research Foundation’s contribution focuses on two main areas: coastal monitoring and protection, and support for the management of risks related to wildfires and water availability.
The first activity concerns the development of methodologies for protecting the Adriatic coastline, with a specific focus on integrated coastal monitoring along a 36 km stretch of coastline in the Molise Region. The objective is to address knowledge gaps relating to coastal erosion and morphological dynamics through Earth observation techniques, satellite imagery and drone surveys. In this area, CIMA is responsible for defining the monitoring methodology and analysing past coastal dynamics, as well as developing operational protocols for observation activities. The work also includes planning and carrying out surveys using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) along the stretch of coastline concerned, and training regional staff to apply the methodologies developed.
The second activity addresses the management of specific risks that are not directly related to coastal flooding but are crucial to the overall resilience of the territory, such as wildfires and water scarcity. In Molise, the focus is on the Biferno River basin, where water availability is closely linked to snow accumulation in mountainous areas. In this context, CIMA Research Foundation is conducting an experimental analysis of the Snow Water Equivalent (SWE), with the aim of developing an information service to support water resource management. The operational transfer of knowledge to regional staff is also planned, with a view to launching the SWE monitoring service at the Regional Functional Centre.
